You’ve received the weekly Sunday paper and you immediately jump to the sales ads and coupons for your weekly browsing. Though taking the time to use these great discounts may save you some money, in the long term it may be costing you. We have some questions you can ask yourself to see if you are truly saving or losing.
Is this a product you will really use before it expires?
Many times we look through sale ads not looking for anything in particular that we truly need. We may not make pancakes at home very often, though when we see a coupon for a discount of a box of pancake mix we make the purchase. A month or two later we realize that the box of pancake mix that is still half full is now expired and the purchase was a waste of money. Sometimes more is not always better even if it may be cheaper per ounce.
Do you truly need this product right now or can you survive without it?
This question can be asked when looking to purchase any item, though it is most important to ask when purchasing clothes and accessories. How many times have you gone out to purchase a new pair of jeans because they were on sale and not because you needed it at the time?
Do you need this much in quantity of this product right now?
Buying in bulk certainly has its advantages. Especially if it is something you are going to use a lot of or will always need. However, the downside to this is that sometimes we purchase things in bulk that we may use a little bit of, but not a lot. It then sits in a cabinet for months or years and is forgotten.
If you do buy a product on sale or with a discount, will you remember you purchased this product 6 months from now?
The human tendency is that the more stuff we have, the easier it is to forget we have it. How many times have you purchased some aspirin but forgot that you already had it? Perhaps next time it makes more sense to buy a smaller bottle of aspirin that costs more per ounce, but you will use the entire bottle.
By asking yourself these questions before making any purchase because of a sale or discount, you will ultimately save more in the long run. You will have more money in your bank account today that you can put towards debt payments, investments, and possibly that vacation that you’ve been dreaming about. Remember that every penny counts.
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